Source: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
ICOCA is JR West’s card, sold by machines in Osaka and Kyoto: ¥2,000, ¥500 of it a deposit. Distance and paperwork, not the plastic, decide how you use it.
1What the card costs
A new ICOCA is ¥2,000: a ¥500 deposit and ¥1,500 of travel. Some machines also sell it at ¥1,000, ¥3,000, ¥5,000 and ¥10,000, each with the same ¥500 inside. Cash is the only way to pay for a new card, and it comes from a Midori-no-madoguchi ticket office or any machine marked with the ICOCA logo in the JR West area.
The Kansai Airport ticket office at Kansai-airport Station sells a visitor design printed with the Wind and Thunder Gods instead of the standard blue card. It's the same ¥2,000, one per person, and needs a passport showing temporary visitor status. The Hello Kitty design has sold out, and SMART ICOCA stopped being issued in December 2024, so credit-card top-ups belong to the phone versions now.
2Loading it, and where it's taken
An ICOCA holds ¥20,000 at most, and charging stops short of that. Cards top up in cash at ticket machines, fare-adjustment machines and recharge machines, or at the till of a shop showing the recharge mark. The money inside is electronic money as well as fare: JR West counts more than 2.2 million places that take it, so the same card buys a coffee and pays for a coin locker.
Only one card can pay for a purchase, and a card can't be topped up at a vending machine there, so a payment over the balance is finished in cash.
3Where it stops
Three limits matter more than the card itself. An ICOCA can't be used on the Shinkansen, so a bullet train needs a ticket of its own, or EX-IC or SmartEX with a registered card behind it. Inside the JR West area a single journey can't run over 200 kilometres, exempting the Osaka suburban network and the stations where the Thunderbird, Shirasagi, Kuroshio and Yakumo stop. One continuous trip can't cross between two IC areas either, so Osaka to Tokyo is a paper ticket, not a tap.
Limited expresses work the same way everywhere in Japan: the card pays the base fare and the seat charge is a separate ticket. That's true of the Haruka from Kansai Airport, which is why the ICOCA and HARUKA package is a single purchase.
4Phone or plastic
ICOCA runs on Apple Pay, on an iPhone 8 or later with iOS 16 or later, or an Apple Watch Series 3 or later on watchOS 8.7.1. It needs a payment card in Wallet from a country Apple Pay supports, uses Visa, Mastercard, JCB or American Express, and can absorb a plastic ICOCA’s balance and commuter-pass data. It can't give money back: JR West refunds nothing through the wallet, so spend the balance down before you fly.
On Android the route is the Mobile ICOCA app, Android-only, which asks for a WESTER ID and a credit card. Both phone versions are free to issue and carry no deposit.
5Handing the card back
Refunds happen at a JR West station inside the ICOCA area, and the counter is closed between 00:50 and 05:00 whatever the station’s own hours are. The balance is paid out less a handling fee, with the deposit added on top. A balance at or below that fee returns the ¥500 deposit and nothing else.
A registered ICOCA, a child ICOCA or a card with a commuter pass attached needs identification, and a child card past its 12th-birthday deadline is refunded free of charge. Take the card to a staffed office rather than a machine if it carries a registered name.
6Suica, PASMO or ICOCA
The three cards ride the same ten-card network at the same fares, so the differences are where you buy it, where you hand it back, and which phone it lives on. In Kansai the machine in front of you gives out an ICOCA, and that's reason enough. Crossing between Tokyo and Kansai on one trip, read the comparison before choosing.
| Before you go | Why it matters here | Check tickets |
|---|---|---|
| Osaka hotels | The card is bought and refunded in the JR West area, so the airport end of the trip is the one that matters | Trip.com Klook KKday |
| JR Haruka airport train | Kansai Airport to Osaka and Kyoto is a limited express, and an ICOCA covers the base fare only | Trip.com Klook KKday |
| Japan eSIM | The Apple Pay ICOCA issues on arrival and every top-up runs through the phone | Trip.com Airalo eSIMania |
| Private airport transfer | The first leg of the trip is the one where a queue at the ticket machine costs you an hour | Kiwitaxi |
Keep reading Suica, ICOCA or PASMO: which IC card should you buy?
Keep reading Which Suica should you get in 2026?
7Questions and answers
ICOCA questions from the ticket machine, with the 2026 rules.
Can I use an ICOCA in Tokyo?
Yes. The ten major cards share a national mutual-use scheme, so an ICOCA rides the Tokyo subway, JR East trains and the private railways, and pays at shops that display the transport IC mark. It can't cross between two IC areas on one journey: you tap in Tokyo and tap out in Tokyo.
Where do I buy one at Kansai Airport?
At the Midori-no-madoguchi ticket office at Kansai-airport Station, which sells the visitor design printed with the Wind and Thunder Gods, and at the ticket machines in the ICOCA area. A new card is cash only, one per person for the visitor design, and needs a passport showing temporary visitor status. The ICOCA and HARUKA package adds the airport train to the same purchase.
Can I get my money back if I leave from Tokyo?
No. JR West refunds an ICOCA only at its own stations inside the ICOCA area, so a card carried to Tokyo keeps the deposit and the balance unless you post it back or return to Kansai. Spend the balance down before you leave and keep the card for the next trip.
Does ICOCA work on an iPhone?
Yes, on Apple Pay, with an iPhone 8 or later on iOS 16 or later, or an Apple Watch Series 3 or later. It adds to Wallet like any transit card, uses Visa, Mastercard, JCB or American Express from a country Apple Pay supports, and can take the balance off a plastic ICOCA. It can't be refunded through the wallet.
Can I use an ICOCA on the Shinkansen?
Not on its own. The card pays ordinary trains and buses, and the Shinkansen is excluded outright. Book a bullet train through EX-IC or SmartEX instead, and link a registered card to those services to tap through the Shinkansen gates.
Is there an ICOCA for children?
Yes, at the same ¥2,000 with the same ¥500 deposit. It's bought at a Midori-no-madoguchi with an application form and the child's own passport, and charges half fares until 31 March of the year the child turns 12. From the next day the card stops working at the gates, and the refund is free.
Keep reading
Sources
- JR West — ICOCA: ¥2,000 a card with a ¥500 deposit, the ¥1,000, ¥3,000, ¥5,000 and ¥10,000 versions on some machines, the Midori-no-madoguchi and machine sales points, and the rule that a new card is bought with cash (westjr.co.jp/global/en/howto/icoca)
- JR West — the visitor design ICOCA printed with the Wind and Thunder Gods, sold only at the Kansai-airport Station ticket office, one per person, passport and temporary visitor status required; the Hello Kitty design is sold out
- JR West — the usage area: journeys over 200 kilometres are excluded inside the JR West area except within the Osaka suburban network and between stations where the Thunderbird, Shirasagi, Kuroshio and Yakumo stop, one continuous tap can't cross between two areas, and ICOCA isn't accepted on the Shinkansen (westjr.co.jp/global/en/howto/icoca/area)
- JR West — ICOCA electronic money: recharge at ticket machines, fare-adjustment and recharge machines or at a participating shop, the ¥20,000 balance ceiling, one card per payment and no mixing with cash (westjr.co.jp/global/en/howto/icoca/money)
- JR West — ICOCA on Apple Pay: iPhone 8 or later on iOS 16 or later, Apple Watch Series 3 or later on watchOS 8.7.1, the Apple Pay region and card requirements, the transfer of a plastic card's balance, and the rule that no refund is available through the wallet (westjr.co.jp/global/en/howto/icoca/applepay)
- JR West — Mobile ICOCA for Android: a WESTER ID and credit card to issue, no issue or usage fee, and the TOICA model for JR Central commuter passes (jr-odekake.net/icoca/mobileicoca)
- JR West — refunds: at JR West stations inside the ICOCA area, the handling fee deducted from the balance, the ¥500 deposit returned on its own when the balance is at or below the fee, the 00:50 to 05:00 closure, and the identification required for registered and child cards (jr-odekake.net/icoca/guide/refund.html)
- JR West — child ICOCA purchase and validity: the application form, the passport or other official identification, and the deadline of 31 March in the year the child turns 12 (jr-odekake.net/icoca/purchase/icoca.html)
- JR West — the end of new SMART ICOCA issues in December 2024, and the 2.2 million electronic-money locations (jr-odekake.net/icoca and westjr.co.jp/global/en/howto/icoca/store)
- Fares, limits and dates are current as of 17 October 2026.
- Ticket links on this page are affiliate links (Klook, KKday, Trip.com, Kiwitaxi, Airalo, eSIMania through Travelpayouts and Awin) and cost you nothing extra.